Blogging Through the Alphabet: V is for Varied

Dictionary.com defines "varied" as characterizedbyorexhibitingvariety;various; diverse;diversified:variedbackgrounds.Last week for U, I wrote a post about how socialized our unsocialized homeschool kids really were. In thinking of that, I began to think of some of the relationships we've made while homeschooling. We've had the opportunity to meet different people from different backgrounds with different religious beliefs from different cultures. We certainly do have some varied relationships!Often we tend to drift together with folks who are like us. We are more comfortable with people who share our beliefs. We can interact better with other parents who parent the same way we do. We enjoy time with other homeschool friends who view school in the same way we do.

Lake day with homeschool friends from church

But homeschooling has also given us the opportunity to be with people who are different.

Fun Friday co-op

We have homeschooling friends that are from our church. We have homeschooling friends from our co-op. We have homeschooling friends from the community that we have met through the library or other community activities. We are part of two different social groups that have a variety of people.

Science group with friends from church

I think occasionally people view homeschoolers as tucked away in their own little clusters of people who think and believe and act just like they do. But for us, homeschooling has had the opposite effect. And I'm very thankful for the varied relationships we've developed.